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Carlisle GP back in front of medical hearing

A doctor accused of leaving a patient waiting more than seven months for a scan which revealed he was suffering from incurable stomach cancer is back in front of a disciplinary hearing this week.

Carlisle GP Dr Jonathan Richard Ashton faces seven charges relating to his time at the Grosvenor House Surgery in Warwick Square.

Ashton initially appeared in front of a General Medical Council (GMC) Fitness to Practice panel last October but the case was adjourned for six months after the chairman fell ill. It reconvened in Manchester on Monday.

Although now retired, he still has a license to practice medicine, subject to conditions. The hearing will decide if the allegations can be proved, potentially affecting his fitness to practice.

Allegations include that he ignored advice to refer the 73-year-old man, resulting in a seven month delay, and when he did the referral was routine, not urgent.

It is also alleged that he did not appropriately investigate the patients’ chest pains or properly record details of the consultation, and that his note keeping and actions in the case were inadequate.

The GMC had previously heard that by the time the referral was finally ordered, the patient had only months to live as the cancer was too advanced to be treated.

Ashton, who is in his late 50s, had claimed at the previous hearing he did not know he had to make the referral.

The city GP graduated from the University of Leeds in 1979. He also served in the territorial army in Kosovo and attained the status of lieutenant colonel.

He ran a single-handed practice from the Grosvenor House Surgery in Warwick Square, Carlisle between November 2008 and April 2010 and was also on the performers list of North Cumbria PCT.